Equinor, Dominion win wind leases in Central Atlantic auction

Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) farm. Image by: PRNewsfoto/Dominion Energy

Equinor Wind US LLC and Virginia Electric and Power Co have been announced as the provisional winners of the auction for two lease areas offshore Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, held today by the US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

The Central Atlantic offshore wind lease sale delivered USD 92.65 million (EUR 84.1m) in winning bids, with six companies taking part. The auction for the two fixed-bottom lease areas is the first in the region in a decade.

Equinor Wind US secured Lease OCS-A 0557 with a USD-75-million bid. The site of 101,443 acres (41,053 ha) is located 26 nautical miles (nm) from Delaware Bay and has a potential capacity of around 2 GW.

“Equinor’s interest in this auction is consistent with our approach to pursue attractive offshore wind opportunities in the United States. The Central Atlantic region has a rapidly growing demand for electricity with widespread support for adding renewable sources of energy into the power mix,” said Molly Morris, president of Equinor Renewables Americas.

Virginia Electric and Power Co, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dominion Energy Inc (NYSE:D), won Lease OCS-A 0558 for USD 17.65 million. The area covers 176,505 acres and is situated 35 nm from the entrance of Chesapeake Bay. It is adjacent and to the east of where the company's 2.6-GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is currently under construction, Dominion said. The new site, which BOEM indicates could host between 2.1 GW and 4 GW, provides the option to deploy additional regulated offshore wind generation, the company added.

Commenting on the latest US offshore wind lease auction, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said: “At the start of the Administration, our nation had approved zero offshore wind energy projects. Today, we have nine - enough to power nearly 5 million homes. This is what developing a clean energy transition looks like.”

(USD 1 = EUR 0.908)

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